Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Rep. Dan Maffei has $1 million fundraising edge over Republican John Katko

2014-04-01-Maffei_Katko.JPG

U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, D-Syracuse (left) has $1.1 million cash on hand in his campaign bank account, according to new figures released by his campaign, widening his advantage over Republican John Katko, right, who plans to tell the Federal Election Commission that he raised about $100,000 in the first quarter.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei has about $1 million more to spend in his campaign bank account than Republican John Katko as the two begin to ramp up their campaigns for the November election in the 24th Congressional District.

The Maffei campaign revealed the size of its cash advantage in a preliminary fundraising report for the first quarter of the year provided to Syracuse.com.

Maffei, D-Syracuse, raised about $315,000 from Jan. 1 through March 31, according to the preliminary totals for the quarter.

The strong quarterly showing left Maffei with about $1.1 million in his campaign bank account at the start of April, according to Kane Miller, Maffei's campaign manager in Syracuse.

Katko, of Camillus, only began raising money for his campaign on March 1 after receiving the Republican Party designation in the 24th District. He had to compete with seven other GOP candidates for the party's backing.

Itemized reports were not yet available from either campaign. Those reports must be filed with the Federal Election Commission by April 15.

Maffei and Katko tried to start the year with a strong fundraising quarter to encourage their national parties and others to invest in their campaigns.

At the same time, a good quarter by an incumbent member of Congress can discourage outside political groups from spending big money against them in the November election.

In the 2012 campaign for the 24th District seat, the candidates and their outside supporters spent a combined $10 million. It was the most expensive campaign on record for a Central New York congressional seat.